A Dream Whose Name I Dare Not Mention
by pingo1387
Summary: The crew wakes up one morning to realize something has been stolen from them. But how are they meant to get such a thing back? Amnesia fic, based on Alice Mare.
1. Chapter 1

**If you don't want to be spoiled for Alice Mare, I'd recommend playing it first or watching a walkthrough or something. Otherwise, here we go!**

* * *

The Strawhats knew something was wrong the second they awoke.

They sat up in bed, brows furrowed in confusion, and got their feet on the floor. When they spotted each other, they became defensive before deciding no one planned to attack. In a silent agreement, everyone went outside.

The men met with the women, and, for a moment, everyone just . . . stood there, nervous and confused.

Finally, Luffy broke the silence.

"So . . . what's going on?"

The others shook their heads.

"I feel like . . . I know you guys, don't I?" he continued, scratching his head. "I know my name's Luffy, and . . ." He frowned. "You guys are . . . Zoro . . . Nami, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, Brook, Franky . . . and . . ." He hesitated. "Robin?"

They nodded.

"It seems that . . ." Robin said slowly, her arms crossed, "our heads have been . . . messed with, somehow. Physical trauma seems unlikely, but regardless . . . our memories are . . ."

"Messy," Usopp supplied. "I mean, I know my name, and I get the feeling we all know each other, but . . . I can't remember a whole lot about myself, or you guys."

Chopper shook where he stood, staring with wide, confused eyes. "I can't . . ." he whispered. "I can't remember if I have a name . . . or who you guys are." He looked up at Luffy, Sanji, and Nami. "I think . . . I've met you three, but . . . ?"

"Your name's Chopper, right?" Zoro said. "Dunno why you'd forget it."

Franky coughed. "Well, I do . . . _sort of_ remember my name," he said. "Luffy, right? When you said 'Franky,' that rang a bell, but . . . I couldn't tell you where I grew up, or anything."

"I remember, but I can't recall much about how I left my home . . . or how I ended up here," Robin said.

"I remember my name, but . . . I can't remember how I got to be here," Nami said slowly.

Brook studied his hands. "I feel as though . . . there's some reason my body is like this," he said. "But for the life of me, I cannot recall . . ." He paused. "Or would that be 'death?'"

Luffy tilted his head. "Oh, you _are_ a skeleton, huh! Must be a Devil Fruit power. I can't remember why, either."

"I do remember meeting you, Brook," Sanji said. "But . . . well, I can't remember a whole lot else. My name, sure . . ."

"I have a Fruit," Robin said suddenly. She displayed an arm and two more arms sprouted out of it. Chopper jumped back and hid behind Luffy, only to jump away from Luffy, while the others looked at the demonstration curiously.

"Yeah," Zoro said. "That . . . seems familiar."

Robin allowed her arms to vanish and looked at Chopper. "You have a Fruit, too, don't you? The Human-Human Fruit . . ."

"I do?" Chopper whispered.

"Well, sure, that's why you can talk even though you're a raccoon," Luffy said.

Chopper frowned. "Wait, I'm a reindeer."

"Really?"

"This is ridiculous," Zoro muttered. "Should we talk about this over some food?"

"Sounds good," Luffy agreed as his stomach rumbled. "Who's the cook here?"

Usopp looked to Sanji. "You? I think it's you . . . isn't it?"

"Am I?" Sanji said. "I guess I could be . . ."

"That sounds right," Nami said. "Yeah, you were at that restaurant, the Baratie . . ."

"Baratie?" Sanji murmured. He shook his head. "Let's find the kitchen."

* * *

"I guess we should start with talking about what we remember?" Luffy said, flopping over the table. The crew had gathered in the kitchen and Sanji was searching the cabinets for something edible, for no one remembered the combination to the fridge, or why it had to be locked.

"So I know I grew up on a mountain near some village," Luffy said when no one responded. "And I went to the village a lot, but I can't remember what I did there. I don't really remember much else, except that we're all pirates and I _think_ I'm the captain."

"We're pirates?" Chopper squeaked in surprise. "Wait, what's a pirate?"

Luffy opened his mouth, and then hesitated. "Uh," he said. "Um . . . a pirate is . . . someone who sails under a skull and crossbones . . . and doesn't care about laws . . . and is free."

"Free?"

A hesitant nod.

"Hey, as long as we're talking about memories," Sanji said from the counter, "does anyone have any preference on what to eat? Only the options are pretty limited when no one knows the code to the damn fridge."

"I like meat, but I guess that's in the fridge," Luffy remarked.

"How about . . . rice?" Zoro said.

The others nodded, content to have that rather than struggle to remember what they most enjoyed eating.

"Rice it is," Sanji said. "And . . ." He stared into space. "Toppings . . . ?"

"Plain rice is fine," Nami said. For the life of her, she couldn't recall what her favorite meal was.

"If you say so," Sanji said with a shrug. "I'll add some soy sauce."

"I remember a little bit," Zoro said as Sanji got a pot of water on the stove and went to grab the rice sack. "My name . . . I lived at a dojo for some time, but . . ." He removed his swords from his _haramaki_ and placed them on the table. "I couldn't tell you how I came by these things. I feel like I know how to use them . . ."

"I think you do," Usopp said, squinting at the swords as if they would provide answers. "You got that scar when you were . . . when you were . . . fighting someone."

He gestured to Zoro's chest and Zoro looked down in surprise. "When did this happen?"

Luffy stared at it. "I can't remember, either," he said. "I swear it must've happened after we met . . ."

He felt his own chest. "And I dunno how this happened," he murmured, studying the X-shaped scar.

"I remembered something," Robin said suddenly, putting a hand to her forehead. "After leaving my home, I . . . I moved around the seas for years, because . . ." She frowned. "I was being targeted by officials. I don't know why . . . and I remember eventually coming to this place, but . . . why . . . ?"

The others shrugged.

"You remembered something, though, that's progress," Franky said encouragingly. "As for me, well . . ." He shrugged. "I still don't know how I got here, or where I was before that."

Usopp swallowed nervously. "I can't remember where I lived before . . . this ship," he said. "I know my name, and . . . I know I'm a sharpshooter . . . I remember running away from things, but . . ."

He looked at the table.

"I don't know where I grew up, either," Nami said, hugging herself. "Or how I got to be here . . . and if we're all pirates, what's my role . . . ?"

"I still dunno who any of you are . . . or how I got here . . . or how I got my name," Chopper whispered. He seemed to become smaller where he sat. "It was very snowy where I used to live . . ."

"Don't stress yourself," Sanji said as he brought bowls to the table. "Breakfast's ready."

He was met with quiet thanks and everyone dug in, only to put their spoons down after the first bite.

"Something wrong?"

"This sucks," Luffy said bluntly. "I'll still eat it, but . . ."

Sanji's brow furrowed in confusion. "How can it be bad? I followed the directions to the letter . . ."

"Maybe you weren't the cook after all," Zoro said, only to shake his head. "No, you must've been, it feels like that's right . . ."

Sanji shrugged. "Who knows? I can't say I remember having cooked before now. My memories are pretty spotty, as well . . ."

"I'm not entirely sure how I ended up here," Brook said as he slowly ate his rice, "and I do feel like we've all met before . . . this afro upon my head, however, is something of a mystery. I must have very strong roots for it to stay after death, but . . . I wonder why I would not cut it off?"

"We probably shouldn't damage anything irreversible for now," Zoro said. "Not until . . . this mess is fixed. We might accidentally hurt something important . . ."

He unconsciously clenched his white-sheathed sword as he said this. Looking down and realizing what he'd done, he frowned and let go.

"Come to think of it . . . I dunno where this hat came from," Chopper said. He tugged off his hat and stared at it. "It looks special . . ."

Luffy pulled off his own hat and turned it over in his hands, tracing the fine stitching along the top and feeling the small bump in the red band where something had once lain.

"This looks like it's been through some things, huh?" he murmured. "How long have I had this . . . ?"

He dropped it back, letting it hang around his neck and lay on his back. "I guess I'll keep it with me . . ."

"Yeah," Chopper said, pulling his own hat back on.

The crew finished off their sad breakfast in silence save for the faint chewing. Once they were done, it was agreed they would look around the ship for clues as to how they might've lost their memories, and that no one was to try leaving the ship for the time being.

* * *

Nami and Usopp leaned against the railing of the stern, staring out to sea. No one had raised the anchor or dropped the sails—since no one could recall how to control a ship.

"I remembered some things," Nami said. "After talking with everyone back there . . ."

"You did?" Usopp exclaimed. "Well, that's good, what did you remember?"

"Not much about myself, but I remember a little bit about Luffy and Zoro," Nami said. "We were in a town, but . . . I don't know why I was there. I don't think it was my hometown. That's where we met . . . I think."

She cast her eyes down. "I remember meeting you, too. You were threatening us on top of a cliff with a slingshot . . . it must've been a long time ago, you were so skinny."

"I don't remember that," Usopp said sheepishly.

Nami clenched the railing. "I remember . . . meeting Sanji, but not much right after that . . . we met some girl, and then . . . everything right up until Robin showed up is a blank, and after that . . ." Her grip grew tighter. "I can't . . . I don't know . . ."

She gripped her upper left arm. "And where did this come from?"

"The tattoo . . . I don't know," Usopp said helplessly. "Everything's so blurry. You all seem familiar, but it's hard to . . ."

As he trailed off, footsteps made them turn around.

"Hey," Sanji said. "I finished the dishes. Mind if I join you?"

"Go right ahead," Usopp said, shrugging.

Sanji leaned against the railing next to Nami. "I still can't recall much," he admitted. "Do either of you . . . ?"

Nami told him what she had remembered and he frowned.

"Baratie," he repeated. "Sounds familiar, or maybe I'm imagining it . . . Usopp, do you . . . ?"

Usopp spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "I dunno. It sure sounds familiar, but everything's super fuzzy." His arms dropped to his sides. "I hate this."

"Don't we all." Sanji reached into his jacket and pulled out a cigarette pack, sticking one between his lips and finding the lighter. He lit the end and drew in a breath through it, blowing out smoke. Nami and Usopp watched him curiously.

Sanji gradually lifted a hand to his mouth and removed the cigarette, examining it. "That . . . was a habit," he said to himself. "I wonder why I . . . ?"

He put it back and drew in another breath. Nami watched the smoke curl and vanish into the air.

"That damn cat," he said under his breath as he flicked the cigarette into the sea.

At this, Usopp's and Nami's eyes widened.

"Cat?" Usopp whispered.

"Yeah, that cat," Sanji said. He glanced over. "What?"

"The purple cat," Nami murmured.

Sanji's brow furrowed. "Yeah, the purple . . . cat."

"The one with the stitched-up clothing?" Usopp said, hands clenched at his sides.

A nod. "How . . . ?"

"It couldn't be . . . could it?" Nami said, staring out to sea.

* * *

"This sucks."

Luffy, Zoro, and Brook sat against the railing of the bow together. Luffy sat with his legs stretched out, Zoro sat cross-legged with his hands behind his head, and Brook sat against the railing, legs drawn up to his ribcage.

"No kidding," Zoro muttered. He felt the scar on his left eye. "I wonder how this . . . ?"

"I know your names," Luffy said. "But . . . nothing else." He made a face.

"I must say the same, I'm afraid," Brook said. "But even the names are . . . well. They only ring a bell, if I'm honest . . ."

Luffy forced a grin. "At least you guys _seem_ cool! Even if we don't get all our memories back, we can get to know each other again . . . and we . . ."

He trailed off, his smile fading when neither Brook nor Zoro responded.

"I feel like this scar . . . is important, somehow," Zoro muttered, tracing his chest again. "But I just can't remember . . ."

He glanced between Luffy and Brook. "I can't say I remember you two very much. Your names and faces seem familiar, but . . . there's nothing else."

"I seem to recall being adrift for quite a long time before we all met," Brook said distantly. "I wonder why?"

Zoro shut his eye. "Who knows?"

Luffy sagged against the railing. "This is so stupid," he said, staring into space. "I bet this is all the fault of that dumb cat!"

Zoro opened his eye and he and Brook looked up.

"Cat?" Brook said.

"Yeah, that stupid thing," Luffy said absently.

"This cat . . . didn't have ragged clothing, did it?" Zoro said.

"Huh?" Luffy sat up. "It did. How'd you know?"

"It was purple . . . and black," Brook added. "Isn't that right?"

Luffy nodded.

Zoro sat up straighter. "It can't be . . ."

* * *

"Still nothing more from any of us, huh?" Franky muttered. He, Robin, and Chopper had found the library, and he and Robin were searching the shelves for anything useful.

"I'm afraid not," Robin said, flipping through one particular volume. "I can just remember where I lived in my childhood, but things after that are . . . a little bit fuzzy. Just a little bit."

Franky grunted in response. "Chopper, right? How about you?"

Chopper shook his head. He'd been staring at the floor for quite some time.

Robin made a small noise as she turned the next page.

"You find something?" Franky said, glancing up.

Robin hesitated. "I don't know . . . but I feel like it's important. Apparently, there's a disease—or perhaps affliction would be a better name—called—"

"A disease," Chopper whispered.

Robin cut herself off and looked at him expressionlessly. "Pardon?"

Chopper hugged his legs. "I don't know," he whispered. "I don't . . . I don't know . . . I don't know how I got here . . . I don't know why no one's hurt me, or hates me . . . I don't know how I got my name, I still don't remember it myself, I don't know any of you, I don't know how I got this hat, I don't know, I don't know _anything_ —"

He had been growing smaller with each passing second and now buried his face into his hooves, shaking with sobs. Robin and Franky glanced at each other uncertainly.

"I don't know why we'd hate you," Franky said at last. "You look pretty weird, sure, but so do a lot of us. I guess we all got immune to it at one point or another."

"But when?" Chopper said, looking up and sniffling. "When did we all meet?"

Robin and Franky shook their heads.

"This just . . . none of this feels right," Franky muttered, sitting down heavily. "I don't know what 'myself' feels like, but this sure ain't it. If only that damn cat hadn't shown up . . ."

Chopper and Robin looked to him.

"Cat?" Chopper whispered.

"Yeah," Franky said. "I saw it last—"

"The violet cat?" Robin said, frowning.

Franky blinked and glanced at her. "Yeah, it . . . it was purple. How'd you . . . ?"

"And it was wearing really old and cut-up clothes," Chopper said, hugging his legs.

Franky leaned forward where he sat. "Don't tell me . . . ?"

* * *

Usopp folded his arms. "I guess we should . . ."

* * *

". . . tell the others about this . . ." Luffy leaned against the railing.

* * *

". . . and get to the bottom of this mystery," Robin finished, tucking the book back onto the shelf.


	2. Chapter 2

"We all saw it, then?" Luffy said, leaning forward as Sanji dished out bean soup. "That cat . . ."

"Just to be sure . . ." Robin reached behind her, took the notepad and pen from the counter, and bent over it. She held up the now-finished product. "It looked like this?"

She had managed to produce a rough sketch of something strange. Although it stood on two legs, its face was shadowed by a ragged cloak, and its hands resembled cat paws. It had pointy ears, a toothy grin, and a single visible eye, all feline in appearance.

"That's it, alright," Zoro said. Chopper, Usopp, Brook, and Nami shivered.

"So, if all of us saw that cat in . . ." Luffy frowned at his soup after trying a bite. "In our dreams . . . no, not dreams . . . what's the word?"

"Nightmare?" Brook supplied.

"Yeah, that's it. If we all had a nightmare with that exact cat-thing . . ."

He hesitated, frowning.

"It could have something to do with . . . our memories?" Usopp said.

Luffy nodded.

"How could this sort of thing even happen, though?" Nami murmured. "It sounds so ridiculous . . ."

"There has to be _some_ explanation for _all_ of us losing ourselves at the same time," Sanji pointed out. "If you think of something better to go off of, let us know."

"Right," she said.

"Soup's no good, huh?" Sanji added, noticing that it was barely touched.

"Nope," Zoro said, stirring his portion. "No better than breakfast."

"If I _was_ the cook, or _am_ . . . shouldn't I be better at this?" Sanji said, almost to himself. "Or could it be because I've forgotten how to cook?"

"It _is_ a bit weird," Usopp agreed. "We met you at that restaurant, so you _must've_ known how to cook . . . right?" He shook his head. "I dunno, it's all so fuzzy, but . . . even if you somehow aren't as good as you used to be, this shouldn't taste _this_ bad if you followed the directions, right?"

"That's a fair point," Franky said, reluctantly taking another bite.

"I'm sure I followed the recipe correctly," Sanji said. "And, come to think of it . . . that recipe had some scribbles on it. Robin, right? May I see that?"

Robin passed him the paper and pen, and he tore off the drawing, writing his name on the next sheet. His brow creased.

"I must've been the cook, after all," he announced. "My handwriting's the same as the recipe's notes."

"It's okay if you've forgotten how to cook, though," Chopper said bravely. "This i-isn't . . . inedible, and if we can . . . sort out this memory mystery . . . maybe you'll remember how to cook again?"

Sanji grunted in reply, pushing the paper aside.

"Would you mind passing me that?" Robin said, gesturing to the recipe book.

Sanji shrugged and handed it off to her. She opened it and flicked through it, skimming the neat scrawl that was Sanji's handwriting.

"Are you looking for something?" Brook asked, picking at his food.

"'A little less sugar for the moss-head—A little more sugar for Chopper,'" Robin read aloud.

"Who's moss-head?" Zoro said. "I thought no one here was called that."

"You're . . . the only one with green hair, aren't you?" Nami said hesitantly.

Zoro paused. "Oh," he said, remembering. "It _is_ green."

"Are we calling you moss-head now?" Luffy said, looking up.

"No."

"Did I write this?" Sanji said, going around to look over Robin's shoulder. "Huh . . ."

"Guess I don't like sugar . . . and you do," Zoro remarked, glancing at Chopper.

"I . . . guess," Chopper said slowly. "Is there anything else there . . . ?"

Robin turned the page. "'Add more meat for Luffy,'" she read aloud. "'Get rid of mushrooms for Usopp unless he's being a little shit.'"

"I feel like we're learning more about ourselves from those notes than we did all morning just by talking," Franky said.

"Oh, I _don't_ like mushrooms!" Usopp exclaimed. "I . . . I ate a bad one when I was little!" He frowned at Sanji. "What do you mean, 'unless he's being a little shit?'"

Sanji shrugged. "Don't ask me."

"'Add cola, Franky likes it in this (for some reason),'" Robin continued as she turned pages. "'Brook hates lemons.' 'Don't fuck up this recipe, it's Nami- _san'_ s favorite.' And . . ." She turned the page. "'Don't fuck up this recipe, it's Robin- _chan_ 's favorite (and don't make it too sweet).'"

"Which was my favorite?" Nami demanded, leaning forward.

"Duck with orange sauce, apparently," Robin said, showing her. Nami sagged back into her chair, her memories of this still a blur.

"There's something in the back," Robin added, flipping to a page covered in scrawls. "'Nami- _san_ and Robin- _chan_ : Orange smoothie (Nami- _san_ 's favorite), Lightly-roasted coffee (Robin- _chan_ 's favorite).'"

A pause.

"These ones are surrounded by little hearts."

Sanji took the book from her and studied the scrawlings, his brow creasing.

"You two and I weren't in a relationship, were we?" he muttered.

"How should we know?" Nami pointed out.

"He's probably just a creep," Zoro remarked. "In any case . . . we know for sure he's the cook, or was."

"Yeah," Sanji muttered, putting down the book. "Still don't remember, though . . ."

"We got off-topic," Usopp exclaimed. "We were gonna talk about that cat-thing . . ."

"Right," Sanji said, relieved to abandon his struggle to recall. "Going off of that, it . . ."

He trailed off.

"Perhaps this cat showed us each something so traumatizing, our memories were shattered?" Brook suggested.

"That doesn't explain why some of us remember a few things better than others," Franky pointed out. Brook was silent.

"My head hurts," Luffy muttered. He had only just managed to finish his soup and now pushed away the empty bowl. "I dunno if this _is_ the fault of that dumb cat, but . . . I also dunno how it _could_ be, or what we're gonna do about it if it is."

Zoro folded his arms. "Should we . . . mull this over for a bit, see if we can't come up with anything else?"

"Y—Yeah," Nami agreed. "We can reconvene at . . . at dinner."

"I'll skim the recipe book, see if I can't find anything important," Sanji said, straightening up.

* * *

Through the rest of the afternoon, the Strawhats managed to gather a few more details about themselves. They found their wanted posters in the sleeping quarters for most of the crew. Sanji figured out who liked and disliked what in terms of food, though oddly enough he didn't think it was important enough to apply to dinner. Nami discovered the ship's log in the women's quarters, but trying to read it only brought about a headache, and so she shoved it aside, deciding to take a nap instead.

The others didn't have much luck. Luffy stared out to sea as if searching for answers, but soon gave up and turned away; Franky explored the ship more, vaguely noticing the excellent woodwork and wondering who had built it; Chopper and Usopp lay in their beds, not speaking to each other; Zoro hid himself in the observatory and napped against a bench; Brook discovered his guitar and old violin, but put them away after a moment of examination; and Robin retreated to the library, studying an old volume.

At some point—they weren't sure when—they found a mirror, in the bathroom, or in the bedrooms, and examined themselves. Their reflections gazed at them, expressionless, and each one had to catch themselves before they could ask, "Who are you?"

When they reconvened for dinner (which was as sad as breakfast and lunch had been), each bleakly announced lack of progress in regaining memories or finding important clues. They had grown more despondent throughout the day, and their voices were devoid of hope.

And so it was with clouded minds everyone went to bed, promising to talk more in the morning. No one thought to keep watch, and they all soon fell into the dark clutches of sleep.

* * *

"Oh . . ."

The crew found themselves standing on the main deck in the dark of night. They looked around, confused.

"When did we all get up?" Luffy murmured. "Did we all sleepwalk?"

Robin looked around, gazing at the sea and sky. "I think . . . we're dreaming." She went to the railing and pointed. "The ocean isn't moving . . ." She now gestured upwards. "And the stars aren't twinkling."

"How are we all dreaming the same thing?" Chopper squeaked, leaning over to peer at the water.

"It's not too much of a stretch, is it?" Usopp said. "If we all saw that cat thing, then this is . . ."

"If we're dreaming, we should be able to wake up," Nami said. She pinched her cheek and winced, but nothing happened.

"Maybe . . ." Sanji strode to the door of the men's quarters and tried the handle, but was unable to open it.

"That room . . . doesn't have a lock," Zoro muttered. "Is the handle stuck?"

"Come over here and try it yourself if you like," Sanji said, stepping back. Zoro did just that to the same result.

Trying the other doors around the ship led to frustrated handle-jiggling and even thumps as some kicked the wood. But when they finally tried the last door—the entrance to the aquarium room—it opened easily.

With nothing else to do and nowhere else to go, the Strawhats entered the room one-by-one, shutting the door behind them. The inside was eerily silent, and the glass tank, normally so bright and full of fish, was stained smoky black. Trying the door they had just come through showed them it, too, was now shut tight.

"If this _is_ a dream . . ." Franky said at last, "I'd call it a nightmare now."

A scratching sound, like an animal trying to get in, made everyone jump and look around.

"Who did that?" Usopp whispered.

The sound came again, louder this time. Robin narrowed her eyes and turned her gaze to the pillar in the center of the room.

"From . . . the dumbwaiter?" she murmured.

Luffy, never one to waste time when it came to things like that, strode forward and pulled open the door. To everyone's surprise, a faint light emitted from it, and when Luffy curiously tugged on the sides, it expanded into a door big enough for each person to enter.

A hesitant moment passed. Then—

"Nowhere else to go," Zoro said with a careless shrug.

"I suppose so," Brook murmured.

Luffy nodded and climbed into the doorway. The others followed one-by-one, and the moment the last of them was through, the doorway closed up, swallowed by a solid wall.

The Strawhats found themselves in a large circular room. The floor was tiled stone, and many pieces were broken or cracked. The ceiling was endlessly high, and all around the walls dyed beige and lavender were nine doors, each its own solid color.

"What is this place?" Nami whispered, holding herself as she stared around, craning her neck up, trying to find the ceiling.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Alice!"

Usopp, Chopper, and Brook screamed, and everyone whipped their heads up or their bodies around to see a familiar figure standing in front of the wall which had once held the door they'd used to enter. This figure was mostly covered by a violet and black cloak, ragged and torn and held together with big safety pins and staples and rough stitches, and its ears and shadowy legs looked to belong to a cat. Most of its face was thrown into shadow by the cloak, but what they could see—a glowing yellow eye with a slit pupil and a toothy smile—sent shivers down their spines.

"It's you," Luffy said.

"Yes, it _is_ me, I'm me, and no one else is," the catlike figure declared, holding up its paws. "Well done, Alice!"

"No one here is named Alice," Nami said shakily.

"Is that so? Everyone here looks like an Alice to me," the catlike figure said, "but that's neither here nor there. Besides, how would _you_ know? Haven't you all . . . lost something?"

"Our memories," Usopp whispered.

"What do _you_ know about it?" Brook asked. "And on that note, who are you?"

"Someone once called me 'Cheshire Cat' . . . I rather liked it, so you may call me that," Cheshire Cat said. It began to pace in a slow circle around the group, its grin never fading. "As for your memories . . . I can't say I'm at fault for _that_ , oh no, that's _not_ what I took from you!"

"So it _was_ you, after all?" Sanji said, keeping an eye on it.

"If not our memories . . . what _did_ you take?" Robin asked.

"Listen close and I'll tell you," Cheshire Cat said. "The thing I took from you was . . ."

What it said next brought narrowed eyes and brows furrowed in faint confusion.

"Why would you take _that_?" Chopper whispered.

"None of your business, is it?" Cheshire Cat exclaimed, waving a large paw shaped like a club as it continued its movements around the group. "I took _that_ because there was no other way to keep everyone in this dream! Or nightmare, as it were . . ."

"You're contradicting yourself now," Franky muttered.

"Am I? Perhaps you're right," Cheshire Cat said. "But let me tell you something . . . when I came to each of you last night to take _that_ away . . . you all refused!"

Silence.

"Yes, you didn't want to lose _that_ ," it continued. "You all fought so hard! You held on for so long! They were such valiant battles, I was nearly moved to tears by the time I managed to take _it_ away! Not that I _can_ cry . . ."

"Get to the point," Luffy said impatiently.

Cheshire Cat stopped in front of that wall, spreading its paws. "I was so moved by your struggles . . . I thought it was only fair I give you a chance to retrieve what I took. Do that . . . and you just _might_ be able to escape from the dream."

"And there's no other way to get out?" Nami said.

Cheshire Cat only grinned. "You were all trapped here because I took _that_ away," it said slyly. "It stands to reason getting _it_ back will help you all awake, does it not?"

"Who's to say we can trust you?" Robin asked.

"Many things I am, Alice, but a liar is not one of them, I promise you," Cheshire Cat declared, wagging a paw teasingly. "I swear to gouge out my eye and carve off my ears should I be proven otherwise!"

"So if you took _that_ away, how are we meant to retrieve it?" Zoro asked.

"I'll give you a start," it said, and something hit Luffy's head. He looked down and picked up the thing, fallen from nowhere.

It was a green key.

"Ta-ta," Cheshire Cat said, "and best of luck to you, Alice!"

With a twirl where it stood, it was gone, leaving the Strawhats by themselves in the room once more.

"That must go to . . . that green door, huh?" Usopp whispered, peering at the key resting in Luffy's palm.

"Is it . . . worth it, to do this?" Zoro said, shifting his weight. "We don't even know what _that_ is like."

"I think it is," Luffy said slowly. "If that thing was telling the truth, and we all fought our hardest to hold onto _it_ . . . then it must be really important, right? I feel like we owe it to whoever we were before this happened to at least try to get _that_ back. And besides . . . I don't think being trapped in a nightmare forever is the best use of time."

Tentative glances turned into tentative nods.

"I suppose so," Sanji said.

"A nightmare . . ." Robin murmured. "Trapped forever . . . ?"

"Something up?" Luffy said, glancing at her.

She shrugged. "Let's see what that green door has to offer first."

Luffy nodded and turned to the green door.

"Let's see what this is all about," he said, and stuck the key in the lock, turning it and pushing the door open.

* * *

 **I want to finish the rest of this story before posting - this is more or less a watching memories kind of fic, and it's going to take some time to get every crewmate done. Once the chapters are done, I can start posting them weekly if that sounds good, but until then this story will be on hiatus.**


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